UNDER WATER

In Callaghan’s novel, a middle-aged woman uncovers a secret in the backyard of a newly acquired heritage home that reveals a sweeping Civil War-era drama.

In the early 2020s, San Francisco Bay Area transplant Iris Pearl and her husband, Benny, have recently purchased a home in rural Pennsylvania whose history dates to the early 1800s. The house has been left to disintegrate over the years, so it requires a total renovation to its structure and the surrounding land. One day, workers uncover a mysterious sack while refurbishing a once-charming backyard pond. Inside is the perfectly preserved corpse of a baby who’s been dead for more than a century. The discovery gets publicity, resulting in outside visitors to the site. Soon, Iris and Benny are forced to confront the realities of a tragic history as they uncover the truth about “Little John Doe.” Running parallel to their story is a romance set during the Civil War, and in the same house. Irish maid Aoife has married William Sprigett and settled into the gracious farmhouse not far from William’s grand family estate, where she once worked. The new couple’s wedded bliss is cut short when war breaks out, and William decides to enlist in the Union Army. With only her husband’s hired farmhand, Thomas Walker, to help, Aoife must draw on her own strength to maintain the farm in her husband’s absence. Aoife, who’s white, and Thomas, who’s Black, become close, which becomes the subject of gossip by members of the surrounding community. Their story launches an epic tale that effectively connects with the Iris and Benny’s 21st-century storyline. Callaghan’s attention to historical accuracy is impressive throughout, and this extends to the parts of the narrative that take place in the modern era, in which the author offers sharp insights into life during the Covid-19 pandemic. Overall, this novel deftly shepherds multiple storylines as they slowly bend toward one another in unexpected and ultimately satisfying ways. What results is an engaging epic about loss, loneliness, and desire that perfectly encapsulates relatable human struggles.

A vibrant hybrid of historical and contemporary fiction.